YOUR FAVORITE LOGO TV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

Gay Couple Holding Hands In Supermarket Told They Were "Touching Inappropriately"

The store later offered them a £10 gift card as an apology.

Thomas Rees and his boyfriend Josh were shopping at their local Sainsbury's in London on Monday when a security guard approached the couple to tell them that someone had complained about them holding hands.

Rees, 32, said he had just finished paying for his groceries when he and Josh were beckoned over by the guard. At the time, he thought they were being accused of stealing something because they were being "made to feel like criminals."

“My boyfriend and I became aware we were being watched,” Rees said. “We were holding hands, arms around each other’s waists, basically showing public displays of affection."

“As we came to pay for our shopping I noticed a security guard watching us. Once we had paid, he then approached us and asked us to follow him outside.”

Once outside, the guard informed them that a customer had complained about the couple's displays of affection. Though he admitted that he'd been raised to believe in "live and let live," he said it was his duty to tell them that the shopper had made noise about their "inappropriate behavior."

The couple was left "stunned and shaking," saying all they were able to do in the moment was "stare in disbelief" at the guard.

“There was no sense of humility. I refuse to believe this would have happened to a heterosexual couple...The issue here is it felt like like 1960s Britain," Rees remarked.

Rees tweeted about the episode Monday afternoon.

Users rallied around the couple and urged Sainsbury's to do something about the homophobic incident.

A customer service representative from Sainsbury's later reached out to the couple, offering them a £10 gift card to the store as an apology. Rees felt the gesture wasn't enough, calling instead for the supermarket chain to invest in diversity training for its staff.

"I wanted an apology, not messages on Twitter," Rees said. "It’s not about the money."

For their part, Sainsbury's responded: “We do not tolerate discrimination in any form. We are investigating this urgently with our security contractor.”

This isn't the first time the chain has come under fire for anti-LGBT behavior. Just last year, the supermarket giant faced criticism for censoring gay magazines at locations throughout the UK.

h/t: BuzzFeed

Latest News